Antony breaks his silence over controversial ear-cupping celebration in FA Cup semi-final… and reveals the reason why he celebrated in the face of Coventry’s players
- Antony held his ear in celebration after United won on penalties
- Erik ten Hag defended the Brazilian’s response on Tuesday
- VAR got Coventry’s winner right – those who wanted technology got what they wanted! Listen to the It all starts podcast
Antony has broken his silence on his controversial celebration after Manchester United reached the FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday after beating Coventry on penalties.
The Brazilian was widely criticized for holding his hand to his ear in the direction of the Coventry side as Rasmus Hojlund converted the crucial penalty.
And the Brazilian admitted he lost his cool after being provoked throughout the match.
“Coventry proved why they reached the semi-finals,” he posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
‘We searched [sought] this place in the final for our fans and we achieved that.
Antony has been criticized for his celebrations in the FA Cup semi-final
The Brazilian (second from left) controversially tipped his ear towards the Coventry players as Manchester United defeated the Championship side on penalties
‘The way our fans were treated by their player was not kind and I, in the heat of the moment, responded to the provocations with a natural defense of my club!’
Erik Ten Hag defended his £86m signing and also pointed out that Harry Maguire and other United players had behaved magnanimously towards their Championship opponents.
“He (Antonius) was provoked, hence this was a response to that,” said Ten Hag. ‘You didn’t see the provocation, just the reaction. But he shouldn’t do it.
‘Did you see Harry Maguire’s reaction? I saw Harry Maguire straight after, and others.
‘We have to recognize Coventry’s performance in that semi-final and the comeback.
‘We completely dominated the match for seventy minutes and the match should have been decided at 3-0. But the return on their part was very good.’
United looked to be on their way to the final when they led 3-0 after just an hour, thanks to goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes.
Antony insisted he respected Coventry but lost his cool after being provoked
Ten Hag defended the Brazilian’s controversial celebration but admitted Antony should not have allowed his temperament to get the better of him
But Coventry fought back as Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare scored twice in eight minutes, before Haji Wright converted a 95th-minute penalty to send the match to extra time.
The Sky Blues looked to have won an extraordinary game when Victor Torp scored in the final minute of extra time, only for VAR to rule Wright had strayed offside in the build-up.
